Custom T-shirt Design For Your Business?

Not a real business, but a cool retro design just the same.

If you’re a small business owner you may have toyed with the idea of an official T-shirt for your company, but in these tough economic times perhaps you’ve found it hard to justify the expense. Granted, that could be a valid point; you certainly don’t want to just toss money around willy-nilly, simply because it’s something that would be cool. On the flip side, however, there is a hidden value in having a T-shirt designed for your business, because it isn’t just a cool T-shirt, but it’s a walking (and sometimes talking) advertisement for your company—every time someone wears it in public, and this is a benefit that will last for, in some cases, many years to come. For example, a good friend of mine brought me a T-shirt from Tommy’s Joynt in San Francisco many years ago, and I literally wore that shirt to rags before I finally retired it. Even though I’ve never actually been to Tommy’s Joynt (but I hope to go someday, I hear they’ve got a killer buffalo chili), thousands of people saw me wearing it around town over the years, and while I’m sure it didn’t even register with quite a few of them, there were many others who did notice, and some would even ask me about it. You just never know which potential customer might see that T-shirt, and when you think about it, that’s a pretty long lasting value.

A nifty retro pinup girl design for Vintage 66 Graphics.

Having a custom T-shirts designed is a great way to help you increase your company’s brand recognition by having your employees wear them, and maybe giving them out as souvenirs to some of your best customers. It’s probably cheaper than you think especially if you already have a high quality vector version of your logo. In fact, in most cases your biggest cost will be having your shirts printed up, but even that can be controlled with good design. For screen printed T-shirts, I believe that in most cases three colors or less in your design is the best way to go, anything more is just a waste of money. Of course, to help get some of your investment back, or even to make a profit, you can always sell the shirts in your shop or on your website. Think about that, people are paying you to let them advertise your business for you. How cool is that?